Abstract: Pectin is a structural polysaccharide and servers as a major component of plant cell wall. Pectate lyase (PL) is an enzyme that degrades demethylated pectin by cleavage of α-1,4-glycosidic bonds of the polygalacturonic acid via β-elimination reaction. The study of PL is helpful for better understanding on the metabolic network of the cell wall and for industrial applications such as food, paper, textile and biofuel productions. A large number of pectate lyase (PL) genes have been isolated from a wide range of plants. Functional researches demonstrated that PL genes were involved in various physiological processes in plants, including growth and development, floral development, fruit ripening and softening, plant-pathogen interaction, and allergenic reaction. In this review, we summarize identification and functional study of plant PL genes in the past 30 years, and give prospects for the further study of PL genes.